Introduction

The UK Government is currently consulting on a voluntary scheme to accredit customs brokers.   We want to ensure our submission to this consultation reflects the views of our members as well as wider stakeholders.  We would be very grateful if you could take a few minutes to respond to this short questionnaire so that we can ensure your views are reflected in our response.  All responses will be treated anonymously. 

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* 1. What type of business are you? Please mark all answers applicable to your business.

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* 2. What is the size of your business?

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* 3. Do you have any existing accreditations or authorisations as a business? Please mark all that are applicable to your business.

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* 4. If applicable, how many customs transactions do you make per year?

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* 5. How long has your business been importing or exporting goods?

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* 6. The UK Government is thinking about whether to introduce an accreditation scheme for customs brokers. In your opinion, should this scheme be voluntary or mandatory?

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* 7. The Government is minded to introduce a voluntary standard. What in your opinion should be the primary objective of a voluntary standard for customs intermediaries?

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* 8. In your opinion, should voluntary customs intermediaries’ standards be subject to independent, third-party verification (certification)?

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* 9. Should certification bodies that provide external verification themselves be checked to ensure that they are capable of assessing conformity to the accreditation they issue to customs intermediaries?

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* 10. Would the implementation of voluntary customs intermediaries’ accreditation encourage you to use the services of certified service providers?

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* 11. If you are a customs intermediary, what would encourage you to get accredited?

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* 12. If you are a customs intermediary, what would be the biggest benefit for you from being accredited?

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* 13. Is your organisation using external training offerings for education on customs and/or brokerage?

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* 14. If you responded to the previous question that you use a mix of external and in-house training, could you please tell us more about what this split looks like?

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* 15. In your opinion, is the educational and training that is currently on offer to training intermediaries sufficient?

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* 16. What, if anything, in your opinion, could be done to improve educational market offerings for customs intermediaries?

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* 17. Do you agree that undergoing training and possessing professional qualifications are important for achieving voluntary standards for customs intermediaries?

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* 18. In your opinion, should the voluntary standard for customs intermediaries be created on an individual level or on a business level?

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* 19. In your opinion, should the voluntary standard for customs intermediaries for businesses be subject to re-audit? If so, how often should the audit happen to keep the trust in intermediaries' skills and knowledge up to date?

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* 20. Would you be interested, as an individual or a business, to participate in the creation process for the voluntary standard for customs intermediaries to share your views and experience, if this is to be offered for future government consultation?

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* 21. Do you agree that below mentioned key components should be met for voluntary standards for customs intermediaries and are sufficient for businesses to be accredited?

·         Competence and/or education and/or experience, to include ways of demonstrating sufficient understanding of customs processes and rules.
·         Staff development, including commitments to continuing professional development (CPD).
·         Systems and data, including quality assurance processes.
·         Customer service, including complaints procedures, dispute resolution mechanisms and timeliness.
·         Administration, including record keeping and insurance.
·         Compliance with relevant statutory requirements

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* 22. Do you anticipate any unintended consequences arising from the implementation of voluntary standards for customs intermediaries? Do you envisage any issues with components or procedures that could inhibit or affect your business due to certifying intermediaries against a standard?

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* 23. Do you have any further observations you would like to make?

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